The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1887-07-06
FREAKS OF LIGHTNING.
Some Queer Performances at a
Summer Resort.
More Than Fifty Persons Stunned
at Paterson, N. J.

During severe thunder storm at Asbury
Park, n. j., a few nights ago, the lightning
dane d all about the town on the telegraph
and telephone wires Little balls Of fire,
which changed with great rapidity to all col
ors and shapes, fixed and cracked about the
telephones in the cottages and hotels. A ball of
hre as large as quart measure played about
the telephone in the Office Of the Coleman
House few minutes after midnight. It
sputtered and spit like cat finally disap-
pearing after giving forth four or five re-
ports like those of small revolver. A little
fiery ball showed itself about the telephone
in the Office of the daily Spray, and
in the hands of a compositor, hurl-
ing it high over the type case at which he
was at work. Another bolt ran into the
main Office of the Western Union Telegraph
Company, on Cookman avenue, and partly
melted some Of the heavy brass
work of the switch board. The light
ming struck cottage on Bangs ave-
Ludlow and his family. The bolt struck the
chimney and bounded off upon the roof, tear
ing the weather boards from three Of the
corners of the structure and wrecking the
dining room. The dining-roOm chairs and
table were overturned and the window cur
tains were torn into ribbons. Two
pretty canary birds, whose cages hung
from the widow castings, were un-
harmed, and sang merrily this morning when
crowds of people visited the house. Mr. Lud-
low and his wife and little daughter occupied
the bedroom over the dining room. They were
awakened by the clap Of thunder, but did not
know that the house had been struck until
Mrs Ludlow smelled fire and her husband
went down stairs and found great holes in the
=. l. oc -, Do vic of
boards were separated into slivers, which just
held together so that the boards reSembled
thick straw floor mating.
At Paterson, n. j., an inky cloud had
passed over the city quietly and was some
distance to the east, when, from an almost
c!oudless portion of the sky there came flash
that made peoples hearts stop. The flash was
the color Of blood, and came down
in zig-zag course till it neared the
street bridge where it broke into two forks
and struck on both sides of the river. 1t
struck McLeans mosquito netting factory on
the northern side of the river, where it tenn
porarily stunned two female operatives and
rendered a score Of others hysterical with
fright. The building was set on fire,
but the flames were extinguished be-
On the southern side of the river it
struck brick building occupied by number
of stores and shops. The electricity came
down the chimney in the kitchen OF Louis
Brown, a barber, and Mrs. Brown was
knocked senseless. She revived, but for two
or three hours it was necessary to administer
stimulants to quiet her shattered nerves.
At least fifty persons in the immedi-
ate vicinity of the stroke were
stunned. Three men, sitting on boxes in
front Of grocery store on the corner OF
Main and River streets, went over backward
together. In one Of the livery stables on the
other side Of the street all the horses went
down on their knees. In an adjoining black
smith shop the fire flew over the iron in the
most fantastic manner Nearly everybody
living within five hundred yards of the place
where the bolt descended felt as if they were
full of pins and needles, and each one is will
ling to swear that the lightning struck inn
mediately in front Of him. For a little
while there was a good deal Of excitement
and alarm. Simultaneous with the lightning
there was one deafening crack of thunder. In
the. central telephone Office every one OF
the six hundred shut-offs were dropped,
showing that currents had filled all the wires
entering the Office. All the telephone opera
tors were affected. some of them being al
most knocked off their stools.